Indians top expatriate cash remitters in 2013

Expatriates in the UAE siphoned out nearly Dh130 billion in 2013 and Indians and other South Asians dominated the remittances, according to a key exchange firm.

Around 80 per cent of the total remittances were made by individuals while the rest were in the form of corporate transfers, Al Ansari exchange said.

“The largest destination of those remittances was India, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippine,” it said.

Arab expatriates accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the total remittances, Al Ansari said in a report without specifying the Asian share.

Expatriates account for nearly 80 per cent of the UAE’s total population of around 8.2 million and nearly 50 per cent of the total are from Indian and other Asian nations.

The UAE, a key OPEC oil producer, has retained its position as the second base to expatriate remittances in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, where the nearly nine million foreigners transferred at least SR250 billion (Dh247 billion) in 2013.

Total cash remittances by the nearly 20 million expatriates in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exceeded $130 billion (Dh477 billion) in 2013.